Mobile + Me — The Remodelled Branding Opportunity

Amit Kotecha, Head of EMEA Marketing at Quantcast looks at their latest mobile research launched at Mobile World Congress highlighting the millennial move to a mobile-first world.

We know mobile advertising, when relevant and delivered in the right context, drives brand engagement and direct response. To better understand how consumers are using their mobile devices and what this means for brands, we commissioned our first independent consumer research report that was released last week at Mobile World Congress.

The report, titled: “Mobile + Me – The Remodelled Brand Opportunity” centers around a piece of proprietary, third party quantitative research, surveying over 3,000 consumers across the UK, France and Germany. It has highlighted the millennial move to a mobile-first world and the remodelled opportunity for brands and advertisers.

Consumers are spending a vast amount of time on their mobile devices to make purchasing decisions. Assessing the influence of mobile advertising, the report revealed consumers are researching purchases on average five times a day on their mobile device. In fact, 80% of millennials (aged 16-34) have been influenced to purchase by a mobile ad.

Highlighting the importance of the tailored aspect of mobile advertising, 43% (of millennials) are more likely to buy from an organisation that delivers them relevant advertising on their mobile and 76% them are more accepting of relevant ads on their mobile device.

However, when consumer expectations are not met, they are disturbed during their “me time” — the time spent relaxing and are likely to pick up our mobile phones.

The lack of relevant mobile ads for consumers negatively impacts their overall perception of a brand. The report found 51% of consumers found mobile advertising to be more intrusive than ads received on their desktop or tablet. However, when expectations are met, brands are rewarded. The research found 37% of millennials believe people’s awareness to brands is heightened by advertising on mobile devices. This shows that when relevancy is combined with creativity, ads can drive better engagement – the key to mobile advertising success.

So what does this mean for brands? Mobile is no longer just a device – it’s a channel that has evolved as consumers have. Today, marketers must bridge the gap between consumer expectation and what brands deliver – which needs to be relevant and creative advertising.

Sir Martin Sorrell recognised this at MWC, stating mobile is a totally new world and a unique channel that changes not only the way you communicate with consumers, but the way they live their lives, how they buy things and their patterns of behaviour. This is why technology, data and content are critical for marketers.